Algeria at the World Cup 2026: Can the Desert Foxes escape Group J?

Algeria are going to a World Cup again. After missing both 2018 and 2022, the Desert Foxes topped CAF qualifying Group G and clinched their ticket with a game to spare, sealing it with a 3-0 win over Somalia in which captain Riyad Mahrez scored and set up two more. It is their sixth World Cup appearance and their first since 2014, when they pushed eventual champions Germany to a 2-1 extra-time defeat in the round of 16 - still the high-water mark of Algerian football.

The man who rebuilt them is Vladimir Petkovic, the Bosnian-born coach who knocked France out of Euro 2020 with Switzerland. He took over after Djamel Belmadi resigned following a poor Africa Cup of Nations, and Algeria responded with a dominant campaign: they finished four points clear of second-placed Uganda. Petkovic has been honest about the draw, calling Group J "a group of three teams that will have to play for second place" - a clear nod to who the favorite really is.

That favorite is Argentina, the defending champions, who open against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City. After that come Jordan, World Cup debutants, on June 22, and Austria on June 27. Realistically the group breaks down to Algeria, Austria and Jordan scrapping for the runners-up place behind Lionel Scaloni's side - with the eight best third-placed teams in the 48-team format offering a second route into the round of 32.

Algeria's hopes rest on a sharp attack. Mohamed Amoura of Wolfsburg was the leading scorer across CAF qualifying with 10 goals and gives them a genuine cutting edge; Marseille's Amine Gouiri and Manchester City's attacking full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri add quality, while Ismael Bennacer steadies the midfield and veteran Aissa Mandi anchors the back line. And then there is Mahrez, now at Al-Ahli, who has said this will be his last World Cup - a fitting stage for a player who carried Algeria to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations title.

No one is calling Algeria contenders - our model treats them as rank outsiders for the trophy, and the path past Argentina is daunting. But escaping the group is a live, realistic target, and that is the story worth tracking. See where the Desert Foxes land in our Group J breakdown, read the full 2026 predictions, and run your own bracket in the simulator to test how far this comeback can go. More on the squad at Algeria's team page.